Mold making machine



May-27, 1941; E, E, ETEAU 2,243,092

MOLD MAKING MACHINE Filed NOV.""13 1939 www ma @ma Patented May 27, 1941 MOLD MAKING 'MACHINE Euclid E. Eteau, Berwyn, Ill., 'assigner to Harold G. Carson, Chicago, Ill.

Application November 13, 1939, SerialNo. 303,981

`(ci. ,z2-4e) 4 Claims.

My invention relates, generally, to making sand molds, and it has particular relation to machines for making such sand molds.

An important object of my invention is' to machine make foundry sand molds whereby the rate of production of such sand molds may be' Other objects of my invention will, in part,`

be obvious and in part appear hereinafter.

Accordingly, my invention is disclosed in the embodiments thereof shown in the accompanying drawing, and it comprises features of construction, combination of parts, and arrangement of elements which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth and the scope 'of the application oi which will be indicated in the appended claims.

For a more complete understanding of the nature and scope of my invention, reference may now be had to the following detailed description,

taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional View taken lengthwise through a mold making machine forming one embodiment of my invention; and

Figure 2 is a side elevational view, partly Vin section, and partly broken away, of the `moldv making machine of Figure l operating stages thereof.

Referring now to Figures 1 and 2 of the drawingthe reference character Ill designates generally a sand mold making machine having a mold housing II. The mold housing I I may be supported on a frame base I2. A pattern plate I3 is supported on a carrier Id. within the mold housing ll. with rollers I5 adapted to run on a pair of steel rails I5 mounted on the support base I2, as shown. The inward movement of the carrier I4 may be limited by stops (not shown). A Vmold showing one of the flask Il rests on the pattern plate .I3 to be lledf With sand for obtaining a mold of a pattern I3 The carrier I4 may be ,provided` on the pattern plate i3. The pattern I8 may be held securely on the pattern plate I3 by screws (not shown). In order to facilitate the pressing of the sand in the flask Il, a vibrator I9 of the compressed air type may be provided on the under side of the carrier Irl, as shown. Any other suitable type of vibrator may be used.

A support frame 2i) is provided on the right hand side of the mold housing II which supports a sand impeller housing ZI. A sand impeller 22 is provided within the housing 2|, and is connected by a connecting rod 23 with a piston 2t of `a hydraulic or compressed air driver 25. The connecting rod 23 is pivotally connected to the sand impeller 22 by the connection shown at 26. The sand impeller 22 comprises a head 21 and a top plate 28. A valve 28 is provided for admitting liquid under pressure or compressed air, whichever the case may be, to the front V,or back of the piston 24, according "to which direction it is desired to move the sand impeller 2,2. Y

The impeller housing 2| also forms a sand pocket 3l) for receiving sand from a sand hopper SI thereabove, when the sand impeller is Withdrawn into the sand pocket 36. The rear position of the head 2l of the sand impeller 22 is indicated by the line 32. This may be varied as desired according to the amount of sand required for pressing into the flask I'I.

In order to pack the sand into the ask I'I, a squeeze head 33 is provided in a squeeze head housing 34. The squeeze head 33 may be operatively connected by a connecting rod 35 to a piston 35 of a hydraulic or compressed air driver 31 as shown. The connecting rod 35 is pivotally securedto the squeeze head 33 by the connection 38. 'Guides 40 are provided upstanding from the squeeze head 33 for guiding it in its movement within 'the squeeze head housing 3. The guides serve to prevent binding and to accurately control the movement of the squeeze head within the squeeze head housing 34. in order to drive the piston 36 in alternate directions as desired, the driver 31 may be connected to compressed air or fluid pressure lines as shown, with a valve 4I provided for admitting the compressed air or liquid under pressure to opposite sides of the piston 35. The driver 3l is supported within the housing 3d by brackets 42, the lower ones serving to limit the upward movement of the squeeze head 33.

' An opening 43 is provided in the side of the mold machine i3, registering 'with the opening 4t into the sand pocket 33, through which the head 21 of the sand impeller 22 may project, as shown in Figure 1 of the drawing.

Any excess sand which may gather behind the sand impeller 22 is removed from the housing 2I through a hole 45 in the bottom thereof.

The guides 49, together with the rails I6 and rollers I, serve to secure the accurate registering and cooperation of the squeeze head 33 and the flask i1 in the mold machine I0. Such accurate registration is particularly important where a pattern is carried on the underside of the squeeze head 33 to form a mold space in the top of the flask I1.

The inner walls of the ask I1 curve or slant inwardly, as indicated at 39, in contrast with the conventional perpendicular walls of mold flasks. This is an important feature, especially when straight-sided patterns are used. When sand is packed into the ask I1, the slanting walls 39 serve to pack or compress the sand inwardly toward the pattern I8. This prevents the sand being pressed and broken away from the sides of the pattern I8. Also uniform hardness of the sand around the sides of the pattern I8 is insured by this inward packing action.

If desired, the sand impeller 22 and squeeze head 33 may be motor driven with suitable controls. However, the fluid operated drivers 25 and 31 provide very satisfactory driving means.

In operation, the pattern plate I3 with the flask I1 are inserted in the mold housing II and the sand impeller 22 is withdrawn into the sand pocket 343. The control apparatus may be set so that the head 21 of the sand impeller 22 is withdrawn by the driver 25 to the position indicated by the line 32, or any other predetermined position as desired. When the sand impeller 22 is thus withdrawn, sand will run from the hopper 3| down into the sand pocket 30. The driver 25 now pushes the impeller 22' ahead thereby pushing the sand in the sand pocket 30 ahead of it into the mold housing I I to ll it and the iiask I1 as shown. The head 21 of the sand impeller 22 is pushed slightly beyond the mold housing II, as shown in Figure 1 of the drawing, thereby striking off any sand which is in excess of that needed to fill the mold housing II. The sand impeller is now withdrawn so that the head 21 thereof is just slightly within the sand pocket 30, as shown in Figure 2 of the drawing. While the sand impeller 22 remains in this position, the squeeze head 33 is moved down into the mold housing II as shown in Figure 2 of the drawing, thereby pressing the sand into the flask I1 to the desired hardness. The vibrator I3 aids in the uniform packing of the sand into the flask I1 by the squeeze head 33. After this packing operation, the squeeze head 33 is lifted to the position shown in Figure l of the drawing, and the completed mold is removed from the mold housing II and lifted from the pattern plate I3. When the pattern plate I3 is re-inserted with an empty flask into the mold housing II, the above cycle of operation can be repeated.

The operation of the hydraulic or compressed air drivers 25 and 31, together with the operating lines and valve controls therefor, has not been described in detail since this is well known to the art and a question of design which may be readily arranged as required. The control apparatus may Ibe readily arranged and designed so that the mold making machine I0 will operate automatically through the above outlined cycle.

An important feature of the mold making machine Ii! is to have the squeeze head 33 pressed or pushed down on the sand in the mold housing I I with a predetermined limited force. This may be carried out by controlling the pressure exerted against the piston 36 on the down stroke of the driver 31. In this manner molds of substantially uniform hardness may be turned out by the machine I0.

Having the pattern plate I3 and ilask I1 vibrated when the squeeze head 33 is packing sand into the fiask I1 is an important feature of my invention. This vibration lessens the time of packing, secures a more uniform packing of the sand throughout, and insures improved reproduction of pattern detail.

Sin-ce certain further changes may be made in the foregoing construction, and diierent embodiments of the invention may be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter shown in the accompanying drawing or described hereinbefore shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim as my invention;

l. A sand mold making machine comprising, in combination, a mold housing, carrier means for supporting a pattern plate with a flask thereon in said mold housing, housing means above and to one side of said mold housing and providing a sand pocket on said one side and having an excess sand opening on the opposite side, a sand hopper above said sand pocket for supplying sand thereto, a sand impeller operable in said sand pocket for pushing sand therefrom into said mold housing and operable into and out of said opening for pushing excess sand therethrough, operating means for reciprocating said sand impeller, head means and means for guiding the same for up and down movement through said housing means and into and out of said mold housing for pressing sand into said flask, and operating means for reciprocating said head means.

2. A sand mold making machine comprising, in combination, a mold housing, carrier means having roller means on its underside adapted to support on its upper side in said mold housing a pattern plate with a flask thereon, track means for said roller means, housing means above and to one side of said mold housing and providing a sand pocket on said one side, a sand hopper communicating with said sand pocket for supplying sand thereto, a sand impeller operable in said sand pocket for pushing sand therefrom into said mold housing, operating means for said sand impeller, head means movable up and down through said housing means and into and out of said mold housing for pressing sand into said ask, operating means for reciprocating said head means, and guide means for said head means, said guide means and said track means cooperating to secure accurate registration of said flask and head means when the latter is moved into said mold housing.

3. A sand mold making machine comprising in combination, a mold housing for receiving a pattern plate and a flask thereon, housing means above and to one side of said mold housing and providing a sand pocket on said one side and having an excess sand opening on the opposite side, a sand hopper above said housing means and communicating with said sand pocket whereby sand flows by gravity from the hopper into the pocket, a sand impeller including a head and a top plate reciprocable through said housing means and said opening, and means for moving said sand impeller through said sand pocket and the head thereof entirely across. said mold housing so that sand is pushed from the pocket and falls by gravity into the mold housing and ask with excess sand being pushed out of said opening, said top plate of said sand impeller meanwhile closing oi the bottom of said sand hopper.

4. A sand mold making machine comprising, in combination, a mold housing for receiving a pattern plate and a iiask thereon, housing means above and to one side of said mold housing and providing a sand pocket on said one side and having an excess sand opening on the opposite side, a sand hopper above said housing means and communicating with said sand pocket Whereby sand ows by gravity from the hopper into the pocket, a sand impeller including a head and a top plate reciprocable through said housing means and said opening, means for moving said sand impeller through said sand pocket and the head thereof entirely across said mold housing so that sand is pushed from the pocket and falls by gravity into the mold housing and flask with excess sand being pushed out of said opening, said top plate of said sand impeller meanwhile closing off the bottom of said sand hopper, head means conforming to the shape of said mold housing and movable up and down through said housing means into and out of said mold housing for pressing sand into said ask, guide means for registering said head means with said mold housing, and operating means for reciprocating said head means.

EUCLID E. ETEAU. 

